Property
Pinpointing, monitoring and quantifying subsidence, land movement, or landslide risks to property.
Land Movement in Rancho Palos Verdes
Date: From 2023 onwards
Location: California, United States
Event
Record winter rains in California activated the movement of large landslides. The City of Rancho Palos Verdes declared a local emergency due to extensive damage to property, roadways, and utilities such as water, gas, and sewer pipes. Wayfarers Chapel – an iconic wedding venue and national historic landmark – announced its closure due to significant structural damage to the building.
Value.Space’s assessment
The precise nature of satellite-based movement surveying makes it possible to identify existing and monitor ongoing land movement risks on an individual asset level, such as property or infrastructure objects. For instance, satellite-surveyed movement pinpoints the fault line separating the more stable areas and actively moving parts of the Wayfarers Chapel property, where the land movement speed differs by as much as 5 to 10 times depending on the side.
Subsidence Damage to Property in Gattières
Date: March 2023
Location: Near Nice, France
Event
The extreme drought of 2022 caused record losses from subsidence damage claims for French insurance companies, totalling €2.9 billion for the year. The damage is caused by compaction of clay soils, which shrink during drought periods and are found throughout France. In March 2023, residents on Impasse des Figuiers street in Gattières, near Nice, reported wide cracks appearing in their houses due to drought-related subsidence of in the area.
Value.Space’s assessment
Value.Space’s satellite-based movement survey revealed a notable subsidence cluster in the area around Impasse des Figuiers street in Gattières. Subsidence development can be observed from the beginning of 2020 onwards.
Landslide in San Clemente
Date: 27 April 2023
Location: California, United States
Event
A significant landslide on a slope next to San Clemente’s Casa Romantica Cultural Centre raised concerns about the structural impact of the event on buildings nearby. Part of the Centre was closed to visitors, and residents of a condominium building next to the landslide were evacuated. San Clemente City Council spent $8.5 million to secure the site and protect property. Additional damage was caused to the rail line below the slope.
Value.Space’s assessment
Value.Space's satellite-based movement survey of the Casa Romantica landslide site revealed warning signs developing on the slope up to six months before the accident occurred.
